1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape guide device for guiding the running of a tape-shaped recording medium which is represented by magnetic tape or the like.
2. Description of Related Art
In general, magnetic tape which is used in a recording and/or reproducing apparatus such as a VTR forms a running path by being guided by a tape guide device.
FIGS. 6 and 7 show one example of a tape guide device which is used in a conventional recording and/or reproducing apparatus. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the tape guide device, while FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional side elevational view of the tape guide device.
In the tape guide device shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a bush 63, a guide post 62 and a shaft 64 are secured to a base 61. The bush 63 defines the turning center of the base 61, the guide post 62 serves to guide magnetic tape while allowing the magnetic tape to slide past the guide post 62, and the shaft 64 serves to turn the base 61.
If the shaft 64 is operated, the entire base 61 turns about the turning center defined by a central axis O of the inner diameter of the bush 63, whereby the running path of the magnetic tape which slides on the periphery of the guide post 62 can be determined.
These members 63, 62 and 64 which are secured to the base 61 have conventionally been fastened to the base 61 by caulking with so-called high speed steel pins.
However, in such conventional example, a radius R1 of the peripheral portion of a hole 61a of the base 61 into which to insert the guide post 62 needs to be made larger than a radius RG of the guide post 62 so that a sufficient strength for caulking can be maintained.
For this reason, to prevent other component parts from interfering with the tape guide device, it is necessary to make the component parts distant from the radius RG of the guide post 62 and also from the radius R1 of the peripheral portion of the hole 61a. This necessity is an obstacle to a further miniaturization of the recording and/or reproducing apparatus, and reduces the freedom of design of the same.
In recent years, the recording and/or reproducing apparatus has been being miniaturized more and more, and the required precisions of individual parts to be used in such apparatus have being becoming more and more strict. Under such situation, for example, in the above-described conventional example shown in FIG. 7, the relative inclination of the central axis Oxe2x80x2 of the guide post 62 with respect to the turning central axis O of the base 61 is strictly required to be not greater than 15 minutes in angle.
However, with the conventional securing method using caulking, it has occasionally been impossible to secure individual members while ensuring the highly accurate positional relationship therebetween, because of a deformation, a positional deviation or the like of part of the members during caulking. In such a case, after a caulking process, it becomes necessary to correct the relative inclination by manual bending while measuring the inclination of the central axis Oxe2x80x2 with respect to the turning central axis O, and this necessity leads to problems such as an increase in the total number of processes and an increase in cost.
An object of the present invention is to improve a method of securing members which constitute a tape guide device and highly accurately and stably providing a tape guide device suited to miniaturization.
To achieve the above-described object, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a tape guide device for guiding tape, which comprises a base in which a hole is formed, and a guide post having at one end thereof a smaller-diameter portion than another portion, at least part of the smaller-diameter portion being fitted in the hole of the base, and the guide post and the base being fused to each other in the smaller-diameter portion.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording and/or reproducing apparatus which comprises a rotary cylinder having a plurality of heads for recording and/or reproducing information on and/or from tape, cassette mounting means for mounting a cassette in which tape is accommodated, and a tape guide device for guiding tape which includes a base in which a hole is formed, and a guide post having at one end thereof a smaller-diameter portion than another portion, at least part of the smaller-diameter portion being fitted in the hole of the base, and the guide post and the base being fused to each other in the smaller-diameter portion.